The Promised Land
by XMidnightXWerewolfX
Summary: Basch Zwingli, Lieutenant in the European Union is exposed as one of the victims of former government experimentation. Now forced to flee for his life or become part of a new generation of experiments, Basch will cross the land in search of both experimental facilities, and a way to the promised land of New Olympus, the only safe place for his kind.
1. The Escape

Basch stood overlooking the courtyard, arms behind his back and his hands clasped together in a militarian fashion. He could see young men and women walking through the courtyard below, all of them served under his command, the command of Lieutenant Zwingli of the Swiss Special Forces. Right now they weren't fighters though, they were friends, some laughed and kicked footballs around, others spoke in quiet tones with smiles on their faces, and some were even yodelling, an old talent, but still a very present one in this sector of the Union. Though there was one quality, one idea that all of these men and women

They hated him.

Not consciously, none of them knew his dark secret, but they all hated him and all of his kind, which included his little sister. Things had been growing even more tense lately, more and more accusations were being thrown around, and it was more often than not those people were never heard from again… Before they were simply deported, now, nobody knew what happened to them, not even Basch in his high-ranking position could find out.

His little sister was in the same position, but she was gone, he'd sent her away almost an entire year ago now under the claim she was advancing her studies, and while she was, it wasn't at any university he'd spoken of. He had yet to hear from her and he was glad for that, she was only supposed to contact him in case of emergency, but…. to hear her voice, would be the nicest thing right now.

He sighed at the people below, their ignorance depressed him; it wasn't their fault of course, their very government made certain to portray his kind as evil, villainous, terrorists, and all sorts of things that caused one to think negatively. There was a chance they would think differently soon, but no guarantee, only their personal ideals would reflect that much. For now, he had only time… time before things were set into motion.

Though that time would soon be cut short as he heard the march of footsteps outside his room, but he didn't even move, he only continued to watch his soldiers outside as they heard the same thing. This sound could only mean one thing… that there was someone in the complex, someone with so much power that it scared the government of the European Union itself, someone from a group of people that scared every country on earth enough to evoke mass deportation and forced migration of thousands, possibly millions of people.

Basch was one of them, and they were after him.

He heard the explosion go off behind him and his green trench coat flew forward, flapping in the force of the wind, but the man himself didn't move an inch from the explosion. He stared for a few more minutes as he heard the shouting of commands and the stomping of feet, he could hear them surrounding them… and so could everyone else in the compound most likely. He took one more moment to take one look at the courtyard before turning around, staring down twenty rifle barrels, ten shotgun barrels, and one single man with a pistol aimed at his face.

"Lieutenant Basch Zwingli, you are hereby under arrest for suspicion in connection to the race inhabiting New Olympus. You will be taken in for questioning and if you are found innocent you will be released, we have orders to shoot to kill if you resist," the man Basch was looking into the eyes of was a long-term rival of his and one of the few high-ranking officers who had opted not to go under the recent string of surgeries in order to enhance their bodies. Basch did not need it, besides, it would have exposed him, but this man… Ludwig Beilschmidt, had other reasons obviously.

He stood five foot eleven, quite a bit above the short man of Swiss ancestry, and his muscles were that of legend in the European Union, easily the most physically strong without any enhancements. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, signalling his coming from the Northern Areas of the Sector Germany in the Union, even more reason to dislike him… Now he had the support, and Basch was exposed.

The soldiers around him each had half their faces covered, their eyes covered ith goggles that allowed them better targeting, and an optional mask for the mouth for gas, but the fellow Lieutenant wore none of these things, only the Officer's hat and coat as any sort of badge of his rank and position.

"So, will you come quietly?" he asked, shoulderpads specifically placed to make him look larger than he was, but Basch knew this man, he was bloodthirsty and he wouldn't wait for Basch to respond. He could already see his finger going to squeeze the trigger, and their eyes met once more before Basch unbuttoned his trench coat slowly, the gloves he wore not impeding him in the least.

"Fire!" Basch's trench coat was opened up now and he sighed at the relief of cool air on him, he heard the sound of thirty one guns going off over and over again, but felt nothing. He could see the flash of their muzzle and see the men pulling the triggers, but the only result was the flattened bullets falling to the ground in front of him with seemingly no power behind them.

Although he felt no pain, every shot hitting his body felt like a shot of adrenaline, and pushed at his body, causing him to move just slightly. With so many shots at once all over his body he collapsed to the ground, staying there and allowing the bullets to shoot him until he stood up, a series of bulletholes in his clothes and his trench coat, but his skin was overall unharmed.

The men in front of him shook in fear, some of them dropped their weapons in shock at the almost unphased Swissman in front of them. It was lucky for him they didn't know his abilities or they'd have used different weapons, but now their fate was sealed as he stood strong, staring each and every man in the eye "My turn," he brought his leg up, bending it before slamming it down on the ground.

The ground in front of him shook with the power as the energy from every single bullet that was fired into him was sent straight into the ground at that single spot, causing the wood and even the metal beneath it to split due to all the power that had been accumulated into his body. The split shoot the troops in front of him and even shattered the window.

As the troops attempted to gain their footing, Basch threw his trench coat at them and lept out the window, diving down onto the ground three stories below. Most men would cringe at the thought, but Basch had done it many times before, and now he slammed down onto the round, one knee down and his fist steadying himself. He heard shouts from above, but what hurt him most, were the whispers he could hear around him.

"The Lieutenant's one of them!" he heard from one young man.

"Get him, we have to stop him!" he heard from another, but another quickly punched him in the jaw for it and Basch cringed, he would pay for that, be called a sympathizer… he could only hope he could talk his way out of it.

More discontent among the men and women in his service gave him the idea to possibly stay, explain to them that his kind weren't evil, but from what he'd done for them, and how much most of them respected him, just the knowledge he was one of them could be enough to change their minds. For now he had to run and he could feel more bullets coming into contact with his back, and while he moved as someone would when they were shot, he didn't feel any pain from it and he only continued to run.

As the men who had entered his room ran after him he could hear the shouts of fury as some were outraged that they attacked their commander like that, others shouted slurs such as "Freak!" and "Monster!" at him. He just hoped his men didn't try to tangle with the engineered soldiers of the Inquisition, he respected them and their abilities, but he didn't want to see them her or prosecuted for their crimes, despite their loyalty to him. He had to go it alone now, there was no hope for him to try to bring another with him.

He could hear the alarms going off as he sprinted forward, he was wearing running shoes at the moment, and underneath his trench coat had been a black undershirt which allowed the air to cool his body down, and then cargo pants that were unscathed, as they had not been a target of the bullets. His blonde hair flew behind him as others pointed him out, shouting his name in either encouragement or wrath.

Basch continued to run until he was met with a series of troops at the front entrance all aiming high-powered rifles straight at him, he could take the firepower, but it burnt his systems out, and he was already tired from taking thirty one clips straight into his chest. He would have to do it though, there was no other way out….

That's when he was pulled into a corridor which quickly closed behind him and he let out a sound of indignant, but a hand covered his mouth and shushed him. "Quiet Lieutenant!" it was a private, a young girl about Erika's age whom she was rather good friends with… and was obviously loyal to Basch. He didn't know what she planned to do, but he couldn't let her help him. "I'm going to get out out of here!"

He shook his head, grabbing onto her shoulders and looking her in the eyes "Not a chance Vargas, you aren't going down with me!" he stared her down, he'd known her since she transferred from the Italian Sector, more specifically, Seborga. "You know as well as I do Amanda, I can't involve you in this, you've got more ahead of you than I do!" He spoke in a hushed tone, but still with the force that a commanding officer needed to have.

Amanda only smiled at him and patting his arm, kneeling down and removing a damaged ventilation cover "I've used these to move around the base at night, remember when you commended me for sneaking past the guards to get extra snacks?" she smiled and then hunched down, Basch was small enough to crawl in with her, but it would probably be a tight squeeze. "Come on, I'll lead you to the outside and then you can escape, you know the mountains better than anyone, even the inquisition."

Basch stared down at her, he was about to say something, but that look in her eye… he could tell she was intent on this, after all, he'd spent the past year learning that exact same look while she was stationed here with him. He took her by the shoulders and stared her in the eye as he heard soldier's boots pounding outside. Either way, he'd need to get out soon, and if he left now, they'd see her in here with him and wouldn't care, she would be hurt.

"Fine, but only one condition," he pulled a Pistol out of his holster, it was thin, sleek, and a silvery color that blended in with the snow. It was a Laz-Pistol, designed to fire lasers out in both short bursts and a thin stream; it also had settings like an invisible beam, different targeting settings, and even different power levels. Then he pressed it against her back and gestured toward the grate "You're my captive now, at least if they see us like this, you'll be spared."

Amanda nodded and crouched down as the two heard shouts from outside the room and she began to crawl through the vents, then when Basch moved after her the footsteps came straight toward them and he pulled up the grate, closing off their entrance and then he moved after her. Since he closed off the exit he was forced to move backwards until he found a turn and then he did a three-point turn back to follow Amanda, who was smaller and able to move more easily.

Being a main military compound the vents were larger and able to carry more of the necessary air needed for the inside. Most people wouldn't crawl through the vents because of the danger involved, but Amanda obviously knew which way to move as she quickly crawled through, heading to what he assumed was the exit. He held out his pistol the entire time, he didn't know when they would exit and he would definitely not be able to retrieve it in these close quarters.

Basch's watch read fifteen minutes in the vent before he began to feel the cool outside air… the training yard, that's where they were headed. Well, more specifically the training yard armory, but it was connected to the outside, and that's all they needed. Once they reached the semi-outdoor armory Amanda knocked the grate open and it fell to the ground, crawling out with ease. Basch on the other hand wriggled out of the small space and stretched his arms out for a split second before holding his gun toward Amanda again.

There were soldiers around, all on high alert, but most of them were facing outward and on the far side of the training yard. Basch signaled to his gloves and Amanda nodded, and when Basch approached the door it quickly opened for him, they hadn't shut him out of the system yet, good, that was definitely good. He slowly walked out and quickly moved to put himself against the wall, feeling Amanda climbing up onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His gloves began to heat up and he took a deep breath, placing his boot on the wall and it began to do the same. Then he began to climb, slowly of course, staying flat like a spider, he shivered as he climbed, feeling the hair on his arms stand up from the cold. There was no snow in the training yard, but he could guarantee there was some outside the compound, they didn't go so far as to control all of the weather in Switzerland, that would ruin it's aesthetic beauty. He was grateful for that at least.

Soon he gripped onto the edge of the building and he leaned up, allowing Amanda to climb off his shoulders and onto the building. Then once she crouched down he pulled himself up, his gloves cooling down now and the soldiers on the rooftops not yet noticing their presence. He didn't need to go out of his way to eliminate them, stealth was the most important thing now.

With the he creeped over to the edge of the building, taking deep breaths as he looked to the ground far below. Only just now did it occur to him that on this edge of the base overlooked a steep cliff and he groaned, he'd done this once before, but never with another person… much less from this height. He had no other choice, and he couldn't leave Amanda here, not after she helped him escape, if he left her, she would be under questioning.

She looked to him, unsure of what he was about to do, after all she hadn't seen his powers, but… she had heard amazing things about those like him, that they could fall down mountains and turn out just fine, she heard that even if you shot one they'd get back up. She could only watch him with amazement now, waiting to see what he would do.

Unfortunately Basch's time of thinking was cut short as one of the snipers spotted them and shouted out "I found them, he's got a hostage!" over his com, while he wasn't sure what their response was, his targeting him regardless made it obvious he didn't care. At least they bought his hostage situation… the propaganda around his kind only assured that, now he had only one choice. He wouldn't take Amanda with him, that would be irresponsible of him, and an insult to her, so he did the only thing he could do.

Before he heard the sound of gunfire he backed up, holstering his pistol and running forward, shoving Amanda back to add one final illusion before jumping, spread-eagle over the cliff of the mountain below, and then, the world was a blur.


	2. Upgrade

Basch crashed to the bottom of the mountain and stared up at the base far above, alarms were going off, but he knew full well that they would take time to acquire aircraft, and vehicles had almost no use here in the mountains, but he couldn't afford to linger. He stood up and twitched, falling into the tree and he started to shake. He could feel the force from that fall, repeatedly smashing himself into the mountain, every single impact was now in his body and it was starting to break him apart.

He couldn't hold it in, he shoved his fist into a nearby rock face, releasing every bit of energy he'd collected and when he released it a crack formed in the rock going farther up than Basch could see. When he removed his hand his legs wobbled and he dropped down to his knees, panting heavily as sweat dripped down his face. He couldn't afford another fall like that unless he needed to… Not even he could survive everything, but nobody else knew that, and he needed to head out now.

He attempted to stand, taking a few steps, but his legs buckled and he fell down once again. Then he took only a few moment's rest before he tried once again, staying low and walking forward through the snow. He was slowly recovering and within a few minutes he was able to walk normally and he took up a slow steady jog.

He could already hear the mobilization of aircraft nearby, the European Union had some of the best aircraft in the world, living with so many mountains and uncrossable terrain. They would find him if he couldn't find somewhere to go, and he knew exactly where… he continued running forward as the lights of the town in the distance grew closer, the only hope he had was the loyalty of his family…. and the bane he had was the racism of the entire country.

His military uniform-even without the trench coat-still commanded much respect and nobody questioned him for the moment, especially with a military search going on, that meant a powerful mutant was loose, since the inquisition would normally just conduct more quiet searches as to not interfere with the daily lives of the citizens. He sighed and once he was able to step out of sight he did just that, already hearing the announcements coming over the city intercom.

"_Attention all citizens, we have an Alpha-Level Mutant on the loose. Now Dishonorably Discharged Lieutenant Zwingli of the Glorious Military of the European Union was last seen resisting arrest and questioning of the Inquisition at the military border outpost, it is likely he will be heading South toward the disputed states of Africa. Retrieve him at all costs for processing… then deportation," _as he spoke, Basch huffed at the man, blatantly lying to his people, he would not be released at all, he would be experimented on, just like other mutants all across the nation that had been captured in the past few years.

Then once the announcement was over Basch stepped up to a back door, attempting to stay in the shadows as the door opened and Basch's eyes met that of his fathers. "Hallo father…." he sighed, it had been a long time since he'd even seen his father's face, much less spoken to him, and here he was, asking for help now that he was a fugitive. He was the only person Basch could trust though, and he had to trust him.

Basch's father looked down at him with that blank expression he always had, a disapproving gaze that he seemed to save just for his son sprinkled on top of it. He had long hair and green eyes, and most would say the two looked exactly alike, except that Basch was much shorter and took more after his Swiss mother…. Meanwhile his father looked more like his Germanic ancestors, but even with that mean expression, even with that disapproving gaze he stepped aside "Get in."

Basch couldn't say he had expected that, but he wasn't too surprised either, and as he stepped inside the feel of old surrounded him. His father was more than traditional, he reveled in the old ways of his people, even going so far as to wear an amulet to Thor at all times, and have a room enshrined to him. Despite worshipping a god of battle, and Basch being Lieutenant-well, ex-Lieutenant now-he still wasn't good enough. Perhaps it was because he was… what he was, but regardless, his father had still let him in.

The older man stepped inside and into the den where a series of fur pelts lined the walls and the floor. He looked up at his son with… was that a lightened expression? The question was, pity or grief? Nevertheless he stood up straight and spoke "You can stay here tonight, but after that, you must leave, I cannot risk the inquisition making the connection and tracking you back here…" and he took a mug of beer, taking a drink before setting the mug down, staring into the fire… as though thinking intensely.

Basch didn't expect to get anymore out of him so he simply nodded "Yes father… I'll be out by tomorrow…" he only hoped that his room hadn't changed much since he left a few years back, in fact… it held a few things that would be useful to him here in the mountains. He had an old trench coat, it wasn't like the one he had in the military, his own was more rugged, and had a much better fashion sense, at least in his opinion.

Then his father spoke up again, not turning his head away from the fireplace "Your…. motorcycle is still in the garage…" he sighed "And the keys are on your dresser, I had no one to sell it to and I can't ride it, so it should still be just as you left it." He took another drink of his alcohol, he looked almost… like a caring father right now, which was entirely alien to Basch, he had expected his father to go out of his way to sell it, after an entire childhood and teenager years filled with disappointment, and one last fight as soon as Basch claimed he would be joining the military, the same military that had taken his… previous son from him. Perhaps that's why he had always disapproved of him, Basch would never be Gabriel.

Basch paused on the stairs to look at his father "Thanks… dad," it had been his first time using that word since he was a child, foreign to his tongue he ran a hand through his hair, leaving the situation and stepping up the stairs, leaving his father behind with his thoughts. The man sighed and looked around at the house he lived in alone, perhaps… helping his son in this moment would be something he could look back on fondly, or perhaps, he could look at it as his greatest mistake, whichever it was, this would be a defining moment for him.

Basch stepped into his room… it was just as it was when he left it, his bed was perfect pristine, closet door still slightly ajar, and even the motorcycle keys on his dresser just as his father said. Basch was tempted to grab them, head out right now, but that would be a mistake, everyone was hyped up, even outside he heard heralds and policemen shouting to calm down the citizens, leaving now would be a bad move for his safety, he would wait until early in the morning when most people were asleep and most men in uniform were changing shifts.

Meanwhile in his room Basch removed his military-grade shirt and pants, both riddled with bulletholes, and while the boots were still good, they didn't allow him enough ankle movement to work his motorcycle well so he would have to leave them behind. Now he stood there in his boxers… white with the symbol of the military on them, he stripped them off as well and opened up his wardrobe, pulling out a comfortable pair of boxers and tossing them on the bed. Next came a black long-sleeve shirt that he tossed right on there with it.

Then he began to dress himself, out of the military uniform that he'd come to know and even enjoy from the past few years and into his civilian clothes, no, they were fugitive clothes now, he would be hunted to the ends of the Union to have his DNA, especially as an Alpha-level mutant. With that he walked into his closet and flipped the switch, pulling out a simple pair of jeans that provided the most resistance as well as movement. Then he tossed them into his room so they sprawled over his bed, now he was faced with something a bit more nostalgic...

The same trench coat he'd worn before joining the military stared him in the face, ready to be dorned once more by the Swissman. had a large cross on the back with four equal points and all the sides curved inward to make the old cross of the Templars that while old fashion, Basch still had always had a bit of an affinity for it. The outfit was still perfect, just as the day he left it… and he took it out, carefully placing it on the hook of his bedroom door, ready to be put on as soon as he needed to leave.

Now he stared at his bed, moving his jeans down to set on the footboard and laid down on it, staring at the ceiling. Here he was, and now he needed a plan, and that's exactly what he was going to do, he never needed much sleep anyway. So within moments of laying down he sat up again and began to pace the rather large confines of his room, thoughts running through his head of what he was doing, and what needed to be done.

A heavy fist slammed down on the table, causing the entire thing to shake and the men and women around it to stare up at the man at the head in almost fear, despite being on his side. "Scheiße! I let him escape!" Ludwig turned around, picking up his chair and throwing it against the wall, smashing it into a series of pieces, but that only seemed to enrage him more. His long-time enemy and rival had gotten away from him! "I held that scheisskopf by the balls and he managed to escape my grasp! This is impossible!"

Then nearby on the table a rather pale man with blood red eyes leaned back in his chair, snickering at his brother's rage, he found it a bit entertaining to see him break stuff like this. "Calm down bruder, you've still got that schwanzlutscher by the balls! He's a fugitive now, and all of our men are across the board, there's not a change he'll make it across the Mediterranean all the way into the Olympus-controlled zone of Africa.

Ludwig huffed, laying both hands at the table, glaring at him "That's not good enough! I want to look him in the eyes as he knows I've bested him!" he huffed and looked to the back of the table, staring the brown-haired man right in the face "I want to be signed up for Upgrading, immediately!" he was about to sit down, but remembered his destroyed chair and cursed to himself for his moment of rage.

Roderich looked up at Ludwig, blinking "But… you said you never wanted to go through the upgrade, that upgrading yourself with technology would take you farther away from being a man-" suddenly he was cut off by a piece of the chair flying by his face and smashing into the wall directly behind his head. Roderich had of course, dodged it, but only just.

"I don't care what I said before, sign me up, now!" and Roderich nodded in a fearful way, pulling up his phone and making a call as Ludwig stormed out of the room, leaving behind the room of all those who followed him. The look on his face was a scowl and he proceeded down the hall, every man stepping aside to make room for the large German man with smoothly swept back hair who seemed to take up the entire walkway.

Then he received a call on his earpiece and he pressed it, listening to Roderich speak "They are ready any time you want to head it, just… know that-" and then Ludwig cut him off before walking down toward the scientific part of the compound where they upgraded the more advanced soldiers and officers to do exactly what they needed to. Of course there were many choices, but Ludwig's was obvious with his bulging muscles and tall stature.

He stepped up to the scanner system and pressed his thumb and first finger up to the pad as well as opening his eye for the scanner. They read his thumbprint and took blood from his first finger, but pricked it so gently that he couldn't even notice. Then the door opened up for him and he stepped inside, meanwhile the five scientists inside looked up to the man, and the tallest of them gestured to a large table in the middle of the room with a large light over it as well as a series of mechanical devices hanging overhead.

"Head onto the device Lieutenant Beilschmidt," he said calmly. "I assume you already know the upgrades you wish to apply" then he turned to Lukas and Mathias, snapping his fingers as he wrote a few things down on his touch pad. Meanwhiles the others ran around, but paused, waiting to hear what the great Ludwig Beilschmidt was going to upgrade his body with. He could choose anything, anything at all.

"It's Colonel Beilschmidt now," he informed them, and he took off his jacket as well as his pants, tossing them onto the ground without care and standing there in his boxers… only to remove them as well. He was comfortable in his own skin, and he didn't care if another man saw him naked, besides, the clothing would only make it harder and he could put them back on later. Then he laid down on the cold bench and sighed softly, listening as the scientists worked.

He stared at all of them and then stared back up at the ceiling "I want the full front-line officer combat upgrade, and the experimental exoskeleton," he said, without stuttering once. The men looked back and forth amongst each other and shrugged before applying the different settings, and sending him into unconsciousness. They watched the man drift away as the machine began to walk into his body, changing him, for his own personal glory and revenge.

The man opened his eyes to the world around him and he sat up immediately, taking deep breaths as he felt the world differently. His eyes were the first thing he noticed, everything he looked at alerted him as to the systems, what to do and how to activate them if he wanted to work them. It was like when he looked at a lifesign detector on a gun, except… there was no scope in his eye, and it wasn't just indicating life signs, it showed him everything.

Then as he stood up and looked to the men in front of him he read their bios as well, listing off their full names next to them. This was going to take some getting used to… "I hope I can turn this off…" he said and then once he stood up he immediately went to balance himself, but then he felt no need to, his balance was… perfect, and he looked down at his muscles. They bulged no more than usual, but he could feel the strength in them, as well as the agility as he moved them around and flexed them.

His body had what looked like plugs in them, but so small most people wouldn't notice them, and he could see… not the veins of his muscles, but a flowing liquid running through his body, organic medical gel that would heal him if he were to be injured. He also knew they cured fatigue, making sure he would not get tired while he fought. He couldn't see them, but he knew there were implants that helped his breathing, allowing him to hold his breath longer, implants in his skin that made him able to resist fire and explosions, even resisting things like bulletfire and knives. Then the implants in his bones that kept them from breaking and made him just that much stronger, all working together to make a better human being.

He couldn't see why he hadn't done this before, he felt fantastic! He felt incredible! He clenched his fist and brought it up on a wall, his new vision alerted him it wasn't anything important and he drove his fist straight through it. Then he pulled his hand back, it was scratched up, but he saw the cuts fill with a strange substance and then his skin and flesh healed once more. This was just him, he couldn't wait to see the exoskeleton that he had requested as well.

He picked up his clothes and turned to the scientists as he dressed "You men have done me good," and then once he was dressed in his uniform once more he walked out of the room, a smirk on his face as he walked by, feeling like a brand new man. Nothing could stop him now, not even Basch Zwingli, after all, he was a man, a _creature_ like him wouldn't stand a chance, not alone like he was, and Basch was most certainly alone. That's what he got from closing himself off from others, and that will be his downfall.

Ludwig continued to walk forward and then looked down at his phone, thinking for a moment, information ran through his head about the man, but one piece of information he had learned through personal investigation rang first… The thought of it disgusted him, but it was his best guess "It's time to make a call…." he said and then he dialed the phone, bringing it up to his ear.


	3. The Mountain Camp

Basch walked into the garage the following morning, and as he stepped into the room the lights flipped on. He looked around, there was only one car there, no reason to have another with his father living alone, but the other end of the garage was taken up with a workshop, where animal skins could be properly cleaned. He should have know his father would never give up his hunting, how far he must go to retrieve some of the beasts he used to kill in his younger days, Basch had no idea.

He stepped past the car and a large mat was placed between the car and the workshop with a thin shape underneath. It was the right size and shape, but… he had never placed a mat over it? Perhaps he had simply forgotten, or there was the chance his father had done so, but he felt that was unlikely. Then he pulled the mat off and there it was. It was a heavy machine, built to take all kinds of beatings, whether you're talking off-roading, or even now when it might be taking bullet fire.

There was plating on it, reinforcing it quite a bit and while that was to protect it from crashes, it would work just as well for his purposes. Basch had almost nothing on his person, just a bag of food he had taken from the kitchen, he hadn't told his father, but he wasn't awake yet, and he didn't want to speak to him anyway. It was hard enough having to come to him for help, he'd rather just leave this all behind him… and go through with his plans.

He had thought about this moment ever since he became well-known in any sort of way, what he could possibly do, but only last night had he come to a final decision. A map appeared in his mind even now and he knew his path, he would pass through the Austrian sector, and then the Hungarian, that's where his destination lied, he couldn't leave now, not yet, he wouldn't feel right leaving like this, not when he was possibly the only person who could help, or do anything.

Though for now he turned to the present, he had to worry about leaving the area first, most people would be asleep by now, this was his best chance. He set his food down in the small case on the back and then he sat down on the seat he had specifically chosen. It still felt like he only last sat down there yesterday and he relaxed into the seat, bringing his hands up and inserting the key. Then he started it up, the sound of the engine inside silent except for the soft sounds you might expect with an advanced motorcycle like his.

He took a breath, ready to head out when the garage door opened in front of him, revealing the outside, but he hadn't hit the switch… He turned to the door, and there his father was, blank expression, staring his son down with a cup of steaming coffee in his hands. He wore a robe made of animal furs that Basch had never seen him wear before… it must be new. "You know, you could have asked me for some of my food," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Basch turned only slightly red with embarrassment, nodding "I didn't want to wake you father…" Basch could only speak with such formality, he felt that he was alone in that, speaking like that even to his father. Though he'd grown used to it, that gaze of his is what he'd never gotten used to.

"Hm, generous, but I would have preferred to know if I had to get more food," he stood right where he was, staring down at his coffee mug. "Your mother…" Basch cringed, they never spoke of his mother, not once since he was little and his father began to cry, he learned it was a sensitive subject. "She… told me this might happen, that you might end up like this one day, and she told me to make sure you were strong for that day. I won't make excuses, I'm not a 'dad', and I won't pretend to be, but your mother… she mattered to me, and that's why, I know she'd want you to have this."

He stuffed his hand in the pocket, walking toward Basch in a way… he hadn't seen before, reluctance was it? Perhaps, but Basch waited, not moving a muscle as he waited, and then out of his pocket, came a golden watch, it wasn't like modern digital watches everyone wore because they were more efficient, it was old. It had gears, hands, and a glass face on it, and the outside was fantastic, carved perfectly into a series of designs. Then he reached over, handing it to Basch, who took it tentatively, staring at it.

"Check the inside," he said, taking another sip of his coffee as he stood there. Then once Basch looked inside he saw a short quote inside. He looked at it for a few moments as the second hand ticked around each individual line around the outside of the watch.

"_Prejudice, not being founded on reason, cannot be removed by argument"-Samuel Johnson_

The more he stared at it, the more he questioned it… and by extension, his mother. Did she… know he would have to use violence? She must have, that's the only thing that quote could mean… he nodded and closed the watch, this had to be a sign, a sign that his mother supported him, even from the afterlife. He nodded in approval and looked up to his father, nodding to him "Thanks… dad" he simply was not used to the word, but it only felt right to use it now.

The tall man nodded, gesturing out the wide open door "Now, best be off while the sun's still rising… and good luck," with that he turned, walking back into the house. He would probably look back to this moment years later, he might regret it the next day, but he knew that today, he made his wife proud, and he was able to be a father. With that he stepped inside, closing the door and listening as the garage door closed.

Basch couldn't waste a moment's more time, he attached the watch to his pants and slid it into his pocket before adjusting himself, then heading out of the garage. He pulled out and the door closed behind him as he looked around the town, normally it'd be welcoming and inviting, but now every time he turned a corner he thought he'd find a barricade, or a patrol, but he saw nothing. He made a single close call on the main street, but they hadn't been looking his way and he was able to pull into an alleyway.

The street sensors weren't picking him up as a threat, that was good, if they didn't now, there was no reason to think so later. The scenery slowly changed from those of short-statured houses to the distant mountains and beautiful scenery you expect to see when entering the Swiss Alps. They relaxed him… he could remember as a teenager he would come out here at times, and simply relax, and once he became a more experienced climber he would head up the steep cliffs. The heights never bothered him, and he was labeled a mountain goat for it. Even after all this time, he was still calmed by the sights around him.

Basch continued to ride through the rural areas of Switzerland until he turned past a large rock and saw a group of men with guns ahead of him. They didn't wear insignias, nor did they wear any official armor, which meant they were either mercenaries or vigilantes hoping to stop the now infamous man who broke out of a military compound last night. He brought a cloth from his pocket, slowing down and placing it in front of his face, hoping to conceal himself as much as possible.

He drove up to the men, slowing down as they shouted at him in German, taking a deep breath as he looked down, hoping not to spark their anger. He was unsure whether or not these were kind-hearted samaritans, or men looking to abuse their power. They may be near the capital of the Union, but evil existed everywhere, especially licensed evil.

The men walked up to him, they all held automatic weapons and held daggers at their ankles. He observed each of them as best as possible from the position he was at, and while that wasn't much, he could see their feet and that's all he needed. He felt one prod his shoulder with the end of the barrel, and he heard him shout "Name, give us your name or we'll be forced to take you as our prisoner!"

He took a deep breath and with that he brought a hand up to his face, pulling down the cloth and then pretending to fall over, as though he was tired and his body was giving way. The man backed up just enough for his ploy to work, he drove at his legs, not taking them out, but he grabbed the knife, standing up and driving it into his throat before taking cover behind the body. The sound of gunfire range through the surrounding area, but the bullets that managed to get through the body barely had an impact on him.

He pulled out the pistol from the man's holster, lodging a shot in each of the three men in front of them, watching them crumple to the ground before dropping the gun and the man. He looked down at his trench coat and sighed in relief, undamaged… that was good, it was best not to have bullets in the clothing you wore, it tended to draw suspicion. He brushed his jacket off and nodding to himself, observing his handiwork, he wasn't a Lieutenant Colonel for nothing.

With that he began to drag their bodies into the snow nearby, dumping them into a low spot and searching them, pulling out a few chips on their person. That was lucky for him, he would be able to run these through and get the money out of them, yet another thing he happened to learn. It was a corrupt system he'd worked for, but it would play to his own advantage now as he used it for himself.

Then he observed their weapons, crossing his arms for a moment. He grabbed two of their knives immediately, they would come in handy, as well as the handgun. He retrieved the clips from the other men and removed one of their holsters, using it himself and holstering the gun. The rifles were tempting… too tempting, besides, a man in his outfit could be anyone at all, including a man with a firearm.

All in all once he was done removing their items it was a full five minutes later and he felt he would blend in rather nicely. He walked back to his bike and lifted it back up, sighing in relief as he saw it was undamaged, and then he hopped on, kickstarting it once more and taking off into the mountains. He knew he was nearing the border now, and he would encounter more men like that, but they were unlikely to be a real issue for him.

As he drove down the road at a reasonable speed the silence around him calmed him… too much, he couldn't afford that now, he had to stay as alert as possible, the border was close now, and he couldn't afford a single moment's hesitation. He knew full well he could take bulletfire, but there were plenty of things that could still harm him, knives, fire, and energy. He had witnessed the lasers that were in development firsthand, and knew quite well the pain they could cause him. Fortunately for him, they were far from being standard issue, the best they would have would be a large cannon, but aimed at him.

Then farther ahead he saw a pillar of smoke rising into the air and he stopped as he came to a cliff, looking down over the edge. He didn't have anything to see down into the valley, so he did his best with only his normal sight. He could see them on the next ridge, the came was small for a military camp, but still posed a threat, he couldn't just ride his bike up. He would be able to afford to get within a few hundred meters, but anything beyond that would risk his detection, he'd have to go on foot.

He sat back on his bike, riding down the side of the mountain and being careful not to attract attention to himself. The trees hid him once he got down to their level, but he still pulled his bike over to the side of the road and shut it off. Then he stared at the base, The midday meal had just passed, so they would be on high alert, he would have to be careful.

Crouching low to the ground he walked forward through the trees, staying hidden amongst the trees and the snow. The men inside the base watched the roads for approaching vehicles or people on foot, although some still glanced amongst the trees, and when they did he had to slow down. As he approached the base it was easy to see inside as the only thing protecting them as a chainlink fence. Whether or not it was electric… he looked down, picking up a small branch and rolling it up to the fence, and upon impact… nothing.

With that relief he stepped forward, making sure he was out of view of the soldiers around him as he took a deep breath, transferring only the amount of kinetic energy he needed into the series of chain links. Those bullets that impacts him before were doing him good now as he removed a small section of the fence and set it to the side, crawling in and removing both knives he had taken before. He peered around the corner to see two guards making their rounds, and coming straight to him.

He quickly took up position again, standing straight up and relaxing, taking deep breaths. This would need precision and speed, he couldn't let either of them alert the other guards, otherwise he'd have a firefight on his hands and then things would simply get harder. No, the best way to do this was with stealth and finesse. He could hear their footsteps on the gravel now… and they grew closer, ever closer to his position.

He flattened himself against the wall as much as possible, silencing his breathing as he kept his eyes wide open for the both of them. If they noticed him there was a good chance they would alert the other guards, it was a chance he had to take. Then he saw both of their forms, guns brandished and ready to fire at any time, but neither noticed him, only what they expected to be there, which was the wall of the communications building.

Then as they walked forward he brought up his knives and they glinted in the sunlight before he stepped between them, running them through their necks. Blood shot out onto the blades and his hands as he dragged the bodies closer to the wall, keeping them out of sight as best as possible. Then he wiped the blood off on whatever grass was there and put them back in their sheaths before taking a deep breath and relaxing.

He turned to both of them, inspecting what they had on their person, they had chips of course which he took almost greedily, and their rifles were better, much better than the one he carried now. He removed it from his person, sliding it under the crack between the building and the ground before taking their weapons from them, as well as ammunition. There were better weapons he would likely be able to collect along the way, but this would be perfect for now.

Then he found something invaluable, a silencer, compatible with most types of weaponry and he nodded, attaching it to the end of his gun. He nodded, his shots would be near-silence now and this might be able to go much faster than before. He held out his rifle and stepped over their bodies, looking up at the guard in the tower, taking a deep breath before letting loose a single round and seeing him slump over behind the walls. Then before the other guard could see he took him out as well, watching as he did the same thing.

Then he turned around, walking down the length of the building before hearing the door click and he backed against the wall, removing the knife from his person, his rifle going right over his shoulder. He walked up behind him, holding the knife along his forearm before standing up, driving the knife through his windpipe. Then he dragged him over to the wall, setting him down against the wall like the others. He checked once more for a chip and ammo, finding both and moving on.

He moved forward and looked at the towers on the other side of the base. He followed the same procedure as before, taking out the closer man and then the farther one, watching them both slump down. Now he would have free range of the base without having to worry about men looking and noticing him from above. He stepped forward, looking around and taking a breath, he would have to do this quickly, he couldn't just run through with a knife either, he would need to use his rifle.

He stepped behind a wall, aiming and picking off two men standing in front of the main coms building, they both fell down and before any other noticed him he took each of them out. By now all the men outside noticed him and he ran forward, taking fire from a few of them before diving, sliding across the ground as he let spray fire toward a group of three men who came walking around the wall. Then he looked down at the man on the ground, pulling a grenade from his belt and staring up at the door on the control building.

Soon it opened and he pressed a button on the grenade, tossing it into the door and watching as it exploded into superheated plasma. Their death was near-immediate, and with that, the camp was empty. The silenced after battle was almost deafening, but now he had free range, and would have enough time to cross into Austria before he was found out. On that note he began to search every man he killed, pulling off clips and chips from them, storing them safely until his ammo belt was full.

The buildings didn't offer him much, aside from more money and information on encampments around here. Lucky for him this was the only base on this road, he had one long home stretch before he was in Austria. He opened up the gates and trecked back down the road, unimpeded on his way back to his bike, then once he climbed on he looked around at the mountains of his home. There was a good chance he'd never see this place again. In his mind he spoke a silent goodbye before driving over the Austrian border.

He sighed, feeling the mountains pass behind him as well as the fields around him. Long after he was out of the smell of blood and bodies he pulled over to the side of the road and stared at the setting sun. It was rather beautiful here in the mountains… it even made him forget about everything he was going through, but only for a few moments until he looked down at himself, realizing what was going on, and falling back into his own life.

Before anything else he took out the ships he'd removed from the men, they were all small, but not invisible. There wasn't much protection on them, as they were meant to carry only the money someone needed on their person, so as he took them out be began to work on them. It wasn't that complicated, he just attached them to one another and the money transfers began almost immediately. Once he was done he took the rest of the chips, tossing them far into a deep ravine far off. No one would discover those for a long time.

Then he opened up one of the containers, pulling out the food he'd taken from his father's house. The meat was all dried up so it wouldn't go bad, the only other thing he'd grabbed other food items that wouldn't spoil easily. He began to a quick eating session, eating slowly and carefully, no need to overstuff himself. It was strange to go back to something like this after eating rather elegant and fancy foods as an officer. He didn't mind the taste of this dried out food, in fact, he thought it was better than that fancy food he ate before as an officer….

Once he was finished his meal he climbed back onto his bike, he needed to find somewhere to sleep tonight. He had gone to Austria a few times before and remembered some sort of border town nearby, that would do for now. He pulled up the cloth on his face, hoping to hide the lower half of his face, it was likely no one would notice him here, the border town was rather out of the way, and even though they had the technology to keep up, they assumed he would head south, so nobody would be expecting him.

Once the sun set he could see the lights of the town settling down in the distance, it was a rather modest town, with a population under a few hundred. He drove through the street and pulled into the town, no sirens going off yet, he could relax for now… The town was cozy enough, a few buildings for people, he could see a school near the center of town that rose above all the other buildings, and near the entrance was an inn.

He pulled up into the parking lot, removing the key and crossing the lot, there was no around around to look at him, so that was good, but he tried to keep his head low and out of sight of everyone else just in case. When he stepped inside his eyes closed and he breathed in the nice warm air of the inn, it was so inviting to feel that here. He walked inside and listened as a lady played music for the guests in a corner, she was rather talented, but… not his style.

Basch removed his chip from earlier and looked up at the man "How much for a one night room?" he asked confidently, pulling the mask down so the other could hear him. He didn't look suspicious so far, in fact, he had a smile on his face as he checked the computer systems in front of him, scanning through the available rooms.

He nodded, tapping on the computer and then turned back to Basch, intertwining his fingers "A room for the night should be about fifty euros," he said, tapping the system that would transfer the money from his chip.

Basch nodded, removing his chip and inserting it into the machine, watching as the money came up on the screen and he checked his chip, approving at the transfer. He had known some men to fudge the numbers on their systems, especially in places that might not receive much business like this. "Alright, that sounds good," The music still played around them as they spoke.

The man smiled and held out the key card to the room "Here is your keycard sir, though I suggest you stick around for a bit before heading up, our lovely pianist will be finishing up soon and she rather likes when people listen in," he spoke like a teacher would when talking to someone about their student, he sounded almost hopeful of her. Basch could only guess he knew she deserved better, perhaps she did, from what he knew about music, she was rather talented.

He nodded and took the key card "Alright, in that case, I'll have a sandwich then," he said simply, and then he walked over to one of the tables. He sat down and leaned back on the chair, relaxing as he listened to the music of the pianist, it was calming, soothing… Something he didn't experience too often, and it was nice. A lady soon walked over with a drink for him and he nodded "Thank you," before taking a drink and relaxing. The music would be over soon and he would head upstairs to sleep.

He looked out the window and stared into the distance for a few moments as the piece finished up, his mind wandering for a few moments. Then he felt a presence to his left and when he turned he blinked "Can I help you?" he asked, turning up to look past those glasses of hers. It had been the same woman playing piano, but whatever reason she had to speak with him, he had no idea.


	4. New Human

Three bullets blasted through the same point on a target and Ludwig stood at the other end of the range, nodding in approval. "I like it," he stated simply, a smug smile on his face as his eyes constantly scanned the room, he was still getting used to all the information that came up in his eyes, but it wasn't getting in the way, so that was good. Though the more he used it, the more he loved it, and the more he fought, the more confident he was that he could defeat his former rival.

The man next to him smirked, it was one of the same men from his surgery, he had a cross clip in his hair and a… strange floating curl, perhaps that was the result of an experiment, or the world may never know. Though right now he held a phone in his hands as he typed up with his thumbs, sending a message to his colleagues about the success of the Eagle Eye Sight, and how excited he was to see it be used in such a fashion.

Meanwhile Ludwig shouldered the rifle, pulling out the pistol he had picked out and brought the target just a bit closer, popping a few shots right into the head. He continued firing until the clip was empty and he nodded to himself in approval. This was good, this was very good, "Leave me for a while, I want to practice," and he exchanged the clip, firing at a specific point each time, and every time hitting his mark perfectly as he wished it. He didn't know how, but his accuracy had improved far beyond what he could do before. Sure, he was good before, but now he was beyond what any normal human, or even mutant could do.

He fired rounds into the heart, each kneecap, the shoulders, the head, the gut, and then back up to the heart, then the clip emptied and he switched it out once more. Then he went to the settings, adjusting the targets to be more lifelike, to move, and to slowly increase in difficulty… then he changed the looks, watching as the target turned into a crude copy of his rival and he smirked. Then he watched as it ran towards him, firing straight through the head and watching it crumple.

Two more appeared on either side of him and he dove to the sight, taking them both out and sitting behind the cover. He was unsure where the new targets had appeared, but he popped his head out, aiming and firing at both before they had a chance to react. Then he ran forward, the room moving with him as he fired off a few more shots, every enemy fell in front of him. This was perfectly, absolutely perfect!

Then he saw an enemy on the far side of the room, and he brought his gun up, firing a round straight towards the heart, and then… nothing. The enemy only cringed as the round impacted their shoulder and brought their gun up to return fire. Before Ludwig was punished with an electrical shot for being shot he fired a few more rounds, stopping it in his tracks and calling out "Computer, freeze program!" and the program stopped, all the enemies in the room disappeared and he looked down at his weapon. His abilities were still limited by the capabilities of weapons, he had to remember that.

He took a deep breath, changing the clip in his pistol quickly before changing to his rifle and starting up the program again. He stayed in the same program for a total of half an hour before everything from and he turned to the door opening behind him. The same man from before as well as his younger-and rather annoyed looking-brother stepped in, observing the man's handiwork. The elder replied "Wonderful… your skills are even greater than we predicted, yet more proof the training of the man will have an influence on the machines installed, make sure to note this Emil."

The younger nodded, writing down on a touch-pad board, both seemed interested, but Ludwig turned back to them, staring them in the eyes. "What is it?" he questioned them, he knew they could observe from the outside, so they must have wanted something. He wasn't about to beat around the bush either and he looked at the both of them, and while his eyes didn't tell him such, he knew they wanted something from him.

The younger spoke up first as he was still writing this down "Well, we were observing your abilities, and thought you might want to try out the special power armor you'd requested as well.. after all, I assume those nerve implants aren't just for show," and he continued to write with everything he said, seeming rather disinterested. Though deep down he wanted to see this, he wanted to see the legendary Ludwig Beilschmidt in the experimental power armor, and he wanted to see him destroy their enemies in it.

Ludwig on the other hand showed much interest in his face and he smiled like a man who had an evil thought bubbling in their mind, and nodding. "Yes, let us see this experiment of yours, after all, I've had to wait for it while you make your final adjustments," he looked at both of them and they nodded to each other, walking out of the room and gesturing for him to follow, and he did exactly that. His eyes switched from combat mode to travel mode and in response, began to display information of everyone they came across.

Every soldier's information was right in his face to see, nothing was hidden from him. The man with a worried look? He seemed to be having divorce troubles. The man who had a new spark in his eye? He was a recent transfer here and ready to serve. No doubt he'd been able to know some of these things before, but this was a whole new world to him, a whole new world he intended to use to the fullest extent possible.

The scientists in front of them even had information displayed, though… most of the science achievements were things he didn't understand, perhaps he could ask them to simplify things more when it came to that. Or maybe it was on purpose, to avoid being read. Nevertheless, he was growing to truly love all of his new abilites.

Speaking of which, he felt better than he even did before, he felt stronger yet lighter, he felt powerful, yet agile. Nothing would be able to stop him, and he could feel every muscle in his body, entirely aware of everything that was going on inside him. Meanwhile every touch sent so much information through his body, the only thing that hadn't been enhanced was his sense of taste… or maybe it had, and it was and he just hadn't noticed yet.

Meanwhile Lukas stepped up to a set of large complicated doors, he went through the same procedure as Ludwig had to enter their surgery room before; eye scan, blood scan, fingerprint scan, except now he also had to type in a codeword onto his pad he carried in front of him. Only then did the door open up to show a series of experiments going on, they were obviously in the final stages of testing, considering there seemed to be very few things going wrong.

The testing included different explosives, a new sniper rifle off to the far right, what seemed to be a type of truth serum, but right in front of them all was a perfectly displayed suit of power armor. It was perfectly black with an intimidating look to it, including a smooth cover right across the mouth, and the eyes were hidden behind a red glass screen that would display even more information and on it, and relay it back to his eyes.

Ludwig stepped forward as he heard Lukas speak behind him "It's in the final stages of testing, we can have it shipped to your ready room and you can dorn it once you leave for your next mission-" and suddenly he was cut off by an outstretched hand that indicated needing silence. Ludwig observed the armor, touching it to see what the texture was, he wanted to know what this could do, if just the skills he had now were impressive, think what he could do in this thing… "I want to put it on now."

The two men looked between one another questioningly, there was no real need to, so… why? "I… suppose so," Lukas spoke up "Though, be careful, like we said the product has just come out of testing, so it's entirely possible you may run into a few issues." While they spoke they observed this situation, and the famous man in front of them.

Ludwig tapped the suit of armor on the chest and as it read his biosignature it opened itself up for it, disassembling to give himself a comfortable way to enter. Then he stepped up and positioned himself as the suit reassembled around him, coming around his form perfectly. Then he felt a sting of pain as the suit connected with his nervous system so he could feel everything in the suit except for pain, that feeling was cut off.

Then once the suit closed around him he opened his eyes, everything looked the same, except he had all this information swimming around his body. It was almost overwhelming. Almost. Instead it energized him and he stepped down, able to do so just as gently as if he wasn't wearing it, despite all the weight he was now carrying. He could even hear perfectly from the outside, even better than normal.

"The helmet is retractable, as is the face mask in case you need someone to see your face," Emil smirked and looked to him "All you need to do is will it, and it will happen just as it would if you were moving a limb. You can also do things like contact people via voice, and the suit will deem whether or not you are speaking with those outside and speak appropriately. You can browse records, and even access UN files straight from that suit, if you have any question just ask."

Ludwig retracted the eye lenses and the mouthpiece, looking down at the two of them with a look of gracious in his eyes. Of course he knew all this already, he knew everything this suit could do before he had even requested it. "You both have done me very good…" he said, a smile on his face and then he nodded to them both "Now, I'll be off, I believe it's time for a meeting…" a smirk doned his face as the helmet covered his face once more and he stepped out into the hall.

His first stop? The training room, with his skills before, he couldn't wait to see the abilities he had now… He sighed and walked down the hall, stepping just as he did before, and just as light despite the armor likely weighing close to a ton on it's own. Most looked to him with surprise, others with awe at the pure power this man in front of them possessed, whatever it was, it was truly awesome.

He stepped confidently into the training room, and within a moment he spoke up, grabbing the large rifle from the stack nearby, no weight to it whatsoever. At least, none that he could feel in this armor, this was fantastic, he wondered what the upper limits of the suit were… Though for now he called out "Computer, set the difficulty to the Maximum, enemies to Maximum, Detection on Full Alert, Assistance: None," and the computer complied as the room began to change.

He watched as around him he was in one of their very own military bases, sirens going off as a group of rebels ran for weapons, wearing heavy armor and manning a series of turrets. Ludwig had almost no time to react, he dove to the side and took cover, he'd done this many times before, but it had never been easy, he'd been caught many times with that first fatal blow, but his reaction time… was instantaneous, if the suit could do this, there were no limits to himself.

He waited for the slightest of pauses before he stood up over the cover, blasting the men running the guns in the face, then releasing his fire on the supporting teams in order to keep them unmanned for a while. Then he made what should have been a fatal mistake, he stood up too long and he could see a man pull out from cover and fire directly at his face, except… no pain, normally it would have sent intense pain through his body and the simulation would have stopped. Instead he was protected, no damage whatsoever from that bullet.

He turned to the man, a series expression on his face and blasted him through the chest, and when he turned to the next he pulled the trigger, only to receive a warning signal on his systems, telling him the gun was out of ammunition now. He cursed before seeing something else, the systems said 'Use Armor Weapon Systems?' he hadn't read about these, were they new improvements to the system? He did the only logical thing as he took cover and said "Yes."

Then the suit expanded, the shoulders boldening out and the wrist gauntlets popped out, two high-powered guns on either wrist, he could feel two small guns mounted on his shoulders, and then his ankles had a gun facing downward… why would they have a gun facing downward unless…. he blinked, perhaps… Well, he had nothing to lose, better to test now than never.

He stood up behind his cover, leaping high into the air-it had to be at least three meters up-before landing in front of another man and he proceeded to punch him in the jaw which released a high-powered pistol shot in his fist. Then another man ran up behind him with a shotgun and without even thinking he spun around, kicking him in the chest and as he flew away a shotgun blast came out of the bottom of his foot, blowing his chest open.

Ludwig stared at the carnage his suit was causing, and all while under fire from mean nearby, well, best to take care of them. He brought up the guns at his sides and aimed toward the men behind their cover, and once he began to release his firepower he saw exactly why something so small were able to be on his wrists, they fired small explosive cartridges the size of a single pistol on burst shot, tearing apart the wall in front of him.

He took a second to observe the suit a bit closer, it was best to know the weapon he was using… The gun had two barrels, and they seemed to be able to move, he could only guess that there was a different mode to it. He brought up his arms again, but he called out "Full auto!" he could see the ammo clips on the side, he knew how this thing must work, with multiple modes on it. This was fantastic!

Though the alarms were still going off, he had to continue moving. He ran up to the door, normally he'd be in here with multiple men and he would cover them while they worked the panel, but he was on his own now. He reached forward, grabbing onto the steel doors and sticking his fingers through, crumpling the solid steel doors and creating an entrance for himself. The men on the other side stared at him, and all released their firepower at once.

He could feel their gunfire on the suit, but it didn't hurt, it did cause him to stagger a bit though, but he watched through the eyes as the men in front of him paused, going to reload their weapons, now was his chance. He brought his arms up and let out the fully automatic fire, the gun fired at such high intensity he knew the recoil had to be intense for anyone except him. He unloaded, spraying the entire courtyard down until all that was left were bodies and guns.

He didn't even pick one up, no need for it, not anymore, he stepped forward confidently, feeling as if nothing could stop him until he heard a series of shouts coming out from both sides. He saw men with lock-on rockets on either rooftop and Ludwig had nowhere to go. He froze up, but his suit was an extension of himself and reacted faster than he could. "Automated defenses, online," as though it could sense the tensing up of his nerves and realized something.

The mounted guns on his shoulders spun toward the rocketeers on both sides and fired like sniper rifles, but most likely with a much shorter range… They were effective though, as soon as the rockets were fired Ludwig thought he was done for, there was no way even his suit could hold up against those. Then the bullets went straight through the rockets on either side of him before blasting the men on the rooftops and he watched as they fell to the ground.

He felt… invincible! Incredible! This was a wonder weapon, just the power armor alone could allow him to face up against any mutant he found, even an Alpha-Level! Then again, he assumed it wasn't tested against them, so he would have to be careful, he knew full well of their capabilities. His thoughts ran short however as more men poured into the courtyard, shouting out at him, these men however, weren't mutants, and could be dealt with as he pleased.

He ran forward, engaging in close hand-to-hand combat and when he did so long blades protruded on the outside of his arms and he began his slaughter. He used mostly his kickboxing skills, kicking men around and watching as a shotgun blast threw them into the air. Or he would grab them, smashing them against the wall and watching their body crumple like tinfoil, the enemy, this is what they had to fear. Him.

Once the carnage was over he looked around, then at his own hands, he wasn't even tired, no shortness of breath, no need for oxygen, he couldn't even smell the corpses around him like he normally could. He gripped his hands tight and nodded in approval, speaking to himself. "I was foolish to believe I could naturally be any better, I'm better than any many could be, I'm a new breed of human, a New Human race to impose itself dominant!"

He grinned to himself, and before he could continue the simulation for now he addressed the computer "Computer, freeze program, I have a call I need to make… Suit, contact the members of staff, we're going to have another meeting this afternoon, I want them to know what we'll be doing… and how we'll be moving out." The suit made a noise of confirmation and Ludwig could only smile, he would do great things.

Then he looked to the world around him, staring at the large base and speaking up "Computer, resume program," and then he dashed forward at top speed, running toward the concrete wall in front of him, sending a fist through the wall and gripping onto the concrete, and once he made the slightest pull he succeeded in knocking the wall down and staring at the preparing men inside. He could only smile and call out "Guten Tag Gentlemen…"

Roderich was the first to speak up "Where is Ludwig?! We have been waiting here for ten minutes already, and he was the one who called this meeting! We all have very busy schedules, and he should know that just as much as the rest of us, if he wants to take up our time it should be for a very good reason," though as he spoke a few others began to speak up either for or against him. It was almost chaos in there.

Then with none of them noticing the door opened and Ludwig stepped in, his helmet retracting in order to show his entire face and hair. His weapons were hidden once more and he relaxed as he walked into the room… then immediately tensed up again. The annoyance on his face was clear and he took a deep breath before shouting out "Everyone shut up!"

Immediately everyone in the room froze as they looked at the tall intimidating German man, most were too afraid to speak except the same man as before, his eyes red as ever "Hallo bruder! You look great in that suit, is that a new fashion statement?" he laughed almost like a snake as he grinned, but Ludwig only groaned and rolled his older brother's antics.

"No Gilbert, it is _not_ a fashion statement…" he said, and he held out his arm to reveal the guns that were hidden inside, as well as the reason for the suit's intense bulk. "This is how I'm going to personally hunt down Basch Zwingli, and bring him back here to meet his fate, and no one is going to stop me, especially not him." He pulled his arm back and the guns retracted as he put both his hands on the table.

"Now, I need information, I need anything any of you can give me on him, and his movements, and I want only the best men, the best tech, and the best vehicles to get where we need to go!" he spoke so loud and intensely that everyone in the room heard him, but none spoke up for the first few moments so he waited.

The first to speak up was a man in the back of the room with blonde hair and rather intensely large eyebrows who looked up at Ludwig "Well our best sources say he's heading south, that's where the closest border is to his home base in Switzerland, where you last saw him. After all, it's a demilitarized zone and he can receive all the help he needs there, but that's about all we know, we have no idea whether he's going to take a straight shot, move through Italy, or attempt the long trek to the Strait of Gibraltar. All have their advantages, so it's anyone's guess." He had an interesting English accent, and he looked like he would be friendly enough, if you approached him the right way.

The second to speak up was a man with long flowing hair that looked far too groomed to be true, and blue eyes that seemed captivating if you looked at them too long. "As for troops, we can spare everything possible to capture this man, but I assume you'd rather a small group of the elite, so that can be provided as well." Then the Englishman to the left gave him an angry glare, only to receive a mocking face in return. Obviously they were attempting to one-up each other with this information.

Then a man with hair that stood straight up stood up, speaking loudly, but calmly. "I hope you know full well we cannot let such a high-level mutant escape, that already happened once, it can't be allowed to happen again," he stood firmly, despite remind most likely the most dangerous man in the room right now that he cannot fail. Fortunately he did not receive a chair in the face, and Ludwig simply nodded.

"I know full well, that's why I will not fail like those before, he will be ours, and we will be able to run our experiments, and perhaps advance ourselves even further before war rises anew. New Olympus will not crush us like they did before, not with the advancements we've made…" he nodded to himself before standing up, looking around. "Now, I need a group of twenty men to do this, put together a team for me, I still have tests to run on this suit…" and he turned, walking out of the room and leaving the rest of these men with their thoughts.

He was not going to lose again, never again would he lose to the man who had beaten him every time before. This explained everything, how he had always been better, he had always surpassed Ludwig, but now he knew why, and he had finally fixed that, now he wouldn't lose, never again. He would remove his infection from this world, he was a disease, a DNA mutation, and they would be eradicated to make room for the New Humans of this world.


End file.
